One piece shift linkage

[Josh]

After having problems with my Bellcrank (bolt loosening) and fixing it (very difficult due to the little hole in the frame) just to have it loosen again, I am fed up.

I was thinking of just making a single rod with a rod end on each side (greasable) to eliminate it entirely. The only downside I see to this is my shift pattern would be backwards. I think I could deal with that though.

Any input?

Thanks!

[DrJeff]

Maybe just moving the linkage to a more accessible location, closer to the transmission.

[Josh]

I have moved my transmission forward 3", so there is no room there.

[Bitsyncmaster]

This is what I did. I machined a bearing into the bellcrank so the standard bolt has no twisting on it.

[Nicholas R]

Your throw on your shifter would also be half as much to get in and out of gear, since the bell crank cuts the distance you move the shifter in half (i.e. the gear selector in the transmission moves half the distance that your shifter does because of the bell crank). Backward shift pattern and half the distance? I think that could get a little weird, lol.

Have you considered loctite on the bolt? Use high strength loctite 263 on the threads and you wont be able to remove the bolt without putting a heat gun to it. Otherwise, consider polishing the shaft of the bolt and the inside of the bell crank.

[Josh]

That is a very slick setup Dave. Looks great, I may have to do that!

Ah yes... Thanks Nick. Thats why I asked. Looks like I will keep the bell crank installed.

[Bitsyncmaster]

That is a very slick setup Dave. Looks great, I may have to do that!

Ah yes... Thanks Nick. Thats why I asked. Looks like I will keep the bell crank installed.

One of the reasons I did my change was the epoxy was chipped where the bolt threads into. So the little ridge on the OEM bolt did not hold it very straight. Stick a camera up there and take some photos to see what you have.

Here is a before and after photo of that epoxy.

[DMC5180]

I have a buddy who's car had the bell crank bolt come loose. The shifter was extremely sloppy and difficult to find the gears. He purchased the car in this condition and did not realize the shift mechanism was messed up (no other car to compare it with). The pivot bolt threads had wore out from rocking back and forth. I fixed it by running a tap through the weld nut to true the threads then put in a new bolt and finally I installed a nyloc Jam nut on the exposed threads protruding from the weld nut. No issues since and its been on the car about 15 years now. I don't recall If I used loctite back then but it can't hurt. I also installed a Jam nut on my own car for insurance. NO issues either. I seem to recall there was only 3-5 threads sticking through but that's enough as long as you don't get carried away tightening it. I seem to recall the threads ended up flush or just shy in the jam nut. If using loc-tite I'd recommend high strength red or 272. I've never had a situation where you couldn't remove a bolt with normal hand tools using 272. I know LOCTITE (recommends using heat to melt the Loc-tite for removal). I found that not to be necessary ,but I'm sure it's a case by case situation too.

[Chris4099]

Another vote for a jam nut here. I decided to replace mine as preventative maintenance about 9 years ago because I didn't want the original one sheering off while driving. So installed this one from John:
http://specialtauto.com/delorean-parts/images/shift-link-piv-bolt.jpg

I put on the jam nut and it's been there since. I was also surprised how much the shifting improved as well. I had no idea my original pivot bolt was causing so much slop in the shifting. What was originally intended as just PM, turned into a shifter improvement as well.